Step-bearing for upright shafts.



R. H. RICE.

STEP BEARING FOR UPRIGHT SHAFTS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 22, 1907.

Patented Mar. 29; 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Fig.1.

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Inventor; Richard *HQRice, "y

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STEPv BEARING FOR UPRIG'IH'I SHAFTS.

PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP 7. 953,231. v Patented Mar. 29, 1910. 2 gEEEE 8 81mm? 2.

" Witnesses: 'Inventorf a STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RIdIlAfiD F SWAMPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRICCOMPANY, A GQRPORATION: OF NEW YORK.

To all whom tt may concern:

Be it known that I, RIoHARD H. RICE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Swampscott, countyof-Essex, State of Mas- V sachusetts,haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Step Bearings forUpright Shafts, of which the following is l a specification.

This invention relates to'shaft bearings and its object is to improvethe construction and operation of the step hearing" which supports andguidesthe lower end or foot of essarily limited thereto.

an upright shaft. y

The invention is especially designed for use in elastic fluid turbines,but is not nec- The bearing isessentially aspherical one,

i as distinguished from those having flat bear-' guide the shaft andmaintain itconstantly in a central position, which stlll further tendsto eliminate vibration and side thrust.

In the accompanylng drawlngs, the invention is shown appliedto aturbo-generator,

Figure 1 being a vertical section'of the bearlIlgfiHflad acent partsFig; 2 a cross section on the line 2--2, Fig. 1:; and Fig. 8 a

side elevation of a1turbo generator equipped with said invention. 1 1

Referring to the last figure, the upright shaftl is shown as supportedat the top by the guide bearing 2', and at the bottom by the stepbearingwhich is inclosed in a shell 3 suitably attached to the base 4. In Fig.1 it appears that the shell 3 comprises three parts, to wit, a body 5, acup-shaped supportingoplate 6, and an upper section 7. The body 5fitsin. an opening in thebase 4, and has a flange 8 through which screws9 are inserted into the base to fasten said body in place. Thesupporting plate 6 has eX- ternal lugs 10 to receive long fastening:bolts 11: which. are tapped into. theflange 8. The upper section 7rests-on the upper end of the- 1 body 5, to which it is fastened byscrews 12. The upper end of the section 7 has Specification of LettersPatent. Application filed. July 22, 1907. Serial No. 385,057.

STEP-BEARING FOR UPRIGHT SI-IAIETS.

Patented Mar. 29, 1910- 1 an internal flange 13, on which a shoulder 14of the shaft rests. A washer 13 is preferably inserted between them.Below said shoulder the shaft is provided with a bushing 15 carryingpacking-rings 16, preferably of carbon, to make a steam-tight jointbetween the interior of the wheel casing 17 and the atmosphere. Theupper packingring bears against the under side ofthe flange 13; thelower ring bears upon an in ternal flange 18 on the body 5; while anintermediate ring may bear upon an annulus 19 whose'outer edge isclamped between the body and the upper section 7. At20 is an inlet for asupply of lubricant, the overflow escaping through a duct 21 in thebody5. The lower end of the shaft is let intoa socket in a revolving stepplate or shoe 22, preferably of cast iron, and secured tothe shaft by atransverse key 23and longitudinal guide pins 24. This shoe constitutesthe revolving portion of the step bearing. It is preferablysubstantially hemispherical, its lower or polar portion containing arecess 25 to serveas a pocket for lubricant.

The fixed portion of the bearing, that is to say the step proper, is acylinder 26 having a close sliding fit in the cylindrical cupshapedsupporting plate 6. It contains a hemispherical seat for the shoe 22,the central portion of said seat being recessed to form a pocket 27registering normally with the pocket 25. About half way between thepocket and the top of the seat there is a substantially horizontalcircumferential groove 28' which communicates by a number of uprightgrooves 29 with the space 30 above the step, from which ducts 31 extendthrough the step to a chamber 32 in the lower part of the cup-shapedsupporting plate. The step is supported on a stout adjusting screw 33tapped through a bushing 34 which is countersunk in the bottom of theplate 6 and is prevented from rotating by a key 35, The screw is tubularto admit a pipe 36 which communicates with the pockets 25, 27. The pipe36 leads from a pump- 36' of any approved construction, Lubricant, suchas water, from any suitable source 1s pumped 1nto said pockets under apressure sufficient to cause a thin film to flow from the pocketsbetween the spherical surfaces of the shoe and step and overflow throughthe grooves 28, 29 and the ducts 81 into the chamber 32, from which itescapes by the pipe 37.

This step bearing is readily accessible for inspection and repair. Ithas large bearing surfaces which will not be seriously injured in casethe flow of the step water ceases or the bearing runs dry. Should therebe any slight change in the various parts of the structure, due tounequal expansion or other causes, this bearing readily accommodatesitself to the altered conditions.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I havedescribed the principle of operation of my invention, together with theapparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof;but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is onlyillustrative, and that the invention can be carried out by other means.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is,

1. The combination with the foot ofv an upright shaft, of a shoe thereonhaving a bearing surface which is a portion of a spherical surface, astep for said shoe containing a seat having a bearing surface which isalso a portion of a spherical surface, there being registering pocketsin the lower part of said shoe and the adjacent part of the seat,upright grooves in the upper part of said seat, and a smooth orungrooved surface extending from said pockets to the beginning of thegrooves, and means for supplying lubricant under pressure to the pocketsto flow therefrom over said surface to the grooves.

2. In a step bearing, the combination with the foot of an upright shaft,of a shoe having a socket which receives said foot, a substantiallyhemispherical bearing surface and a pocket for lubricant in the lowerportion of said surface, a casing having a bottom plate, a step mountedin said plate which has a hemispherical seat for the shoe, said seathaving a pocket for lubricant cooperating with the pocket in the shoe, ahorizontal groove in the surface of the bearing intermediate the pocketsand the top of the bearing and other grooves in said surface leadingupward from said horizontal groove to the top of the surface, and aconduit conveying lubricant from a suitable source to the pockets toflow therefrom to the grooves and the bearing surface.

3. The combination with the foot of an upright shaft, of a shoe having abearing surface which is a portion of a spherical surface and a socketto receive said foot, devices uniting said shoe and shaft to causesurfaces, and conduits for conveying the lubricant exhausted from theupper portion of the bearing to said chamber.

4. The combination with the foot of an upright shaft, of a shoe having asubstantially hemispherical surface and a lubricantpocket in its polarportion, a casing having a cup-shaped bottom plate, a cylindrical stepfitted in said plate and having a hemispherical seat for said shoe, saidseat containing a lubricant-pocketregistering with the one in said shoe,a circumferential groove about midway between said pocket and the top ofsaid step, and upright grooves extending therefrom to the top of thestep, ducts in said step leading to a chamber in the lower part of thebottom plate, and means for forcing lubricant under pressure into saidpockets.

5. The combination with the lower end of an upright shaft, of a singlebearing for supporting said end and for guiding it against lateralmovement comprising a shoe on the end of the shaft having a bearingsurface which is a portion of a spherical surface, a

centrally located key in the end of the shaft and the adjoining portionof the shoe, guide pins in the shoe and shaft on opposite sides of thekey, a seat having a bearing surface which is also a portion of aspherical sur face and cooperates with the bearing surface of the shoe,a cup-shaped supporting plate for the seat having a chamber in its lowerportion, a screw mounted in the plate for adjusting said seat, meansforcing lubricant into the lower portion of the bearing surface tomaintain a flowing film of lubricant between the shoe and its seat, aconduit for conveying the lubricant exhausted from the top of thebearing surface to the chamber in said supporting plate, and a conduitfor conveying lubricant from said chamber.

6. The combination with the foot of an upright shaft, of a shoe having abearing surface which is a portion of a spherical surface, means unitingsaid shoe and shaft to cause them to rotate together, a cylindricalstep. block having a seat for said shoe which seat is also a portion ofa spherical surface, there being axially arranged registering pockets insaid shoe and seat, a cupshaped supporting plate in which the step InWitness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day ofJuly, 1907.

RICHARD H. RICE.

' Witnesses E. P. RIGKER, ALICE W. RICE.

